Sculptor RON
TUNISONArtist Profile

As if pre-destined to spend his life in the field of art and the
study of American Military history, Ron Tunison set out in pursuit
of these
interests as early as fifth grade with drawings of Davy Crockett at the
Alamo and Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, both of
which are proudly displayed today in his working studio. In every aspect
of his life he has not wavered from his historical interests. He has
established himself as an expert in his field of art with four bronze
monuments on the Gettysburg, PA battlefield, one on the Antietam, MD
battlefield and one at the entrance to the Museum of the Civil War Soldier
at Pamplin Park near Petersburg, VA.

His studio at his home
in New York’s
beautiful Catskill Mts. is the location of his company, Historical Sculptures
that he began in 1990
to promote and sell his work. The studio exterior appears to be a barn
but in fact it is more like a museum. His working space is surrounded
with Civil War art, books, and artifacts, all reference material for
his work that is recognized for authenticity and realism. Born December
1946, Tunison’s passion and interest in the American Civil War
have kept him busy for four decades, reading and studying the uniforms,
weapons, and accoutrements in order to make his sculptures as historically
true as possible. He was married in 1973. He and his wife Alice have
raised their three children who have proven to be extraordinarily artistic.
Ron participates in various reenactment groups that add color and realism
to his work. The combination of his knowledge and talent together creates
sculptures abundant with detail and a feeling that completely captures
the period.

High School teachers
and classmates were the first to collect Tunison’s
artwork and sculptures. After graduation in 1965 came the first commissioned
work to do a large-scale diorama of the battle of Gettysburg for the Ft. Defiance
Museum, Gettysburg, PA.

Tunison’s art education continued at the School of Visual Arts
in NYC where he studied painting, illustration, photography, and sculpting
before
graduating in 1969. In 1971 the illustrious sculptor Granville W. Carter
saw Ron’s work. He was so impressed with Tunison’s sculptures
that he procured for him a scholarship to study life figure and portrait
modeling
and anatomy with Michael Lantz at the National Academy School of Fine Arts
in NYC. From 1968 – 1990 he sculpted one-of-a-kind fired clay military
figures that were sold through The Soldier Shop on Madison Ave., in NYC and
also to private collectors.

His artistic talent and
interest in history landed him many commercial photography assignments
for Look
and Time magazine
during the nation’s Revolutionary
War Bicentennial celebrations. Paperback books and record covers were graced
with Tunison photographs. His photography assignments included the 1974
T.V. special “The American Parade” series. On the set of “The
34th Star” starring Richard Kiley, a story about Kansas during the
Civil War, Ron was the still photographer. His pictures were incorporated
into this
T.V. film.

The first important sculpting
commission was for NYC’s
Gale Gallery to create a series of busts and bas-reliefs of famous authors.
Mark Twain, Robert
Frost, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville and Robert Louis Stevenson
are just a few of the twenty-three likenesses he was commissioned to
do from 1970 – 1975.
(See link to commissions on home page) The Civil War period photographs
Tunison created were used on the covers of Bruce Catton Civil War books
and on the
cover of Francis A. Lord’s book, “C.W. Collectors
Encyclopedia, Vol.III”. His photo of a 5th N.Y. Zouave
is in the title frames of the film, “Gettysburg” directed
by Ron Maxwell.

Full-time
sculpting started in 1980 when with five other accomplished artists Ron
founded The Society of American Historical Artists, SAHA,
an organization
whose purpose was to promote authenticity and quality in historical art.
Every Tunison sculpture sold at the first SAHA show on March 6th, 1982
in Denver,
Colorado. Demand for his work grew. The early SAHA shows gave broad recognition
to his work as well as publicity and exposure in prestigious magazines
as ‘Southwest
Art’, ‘Sculpture’, ‘American
Artist’, ‘Midwest
Art’, ‘Art West’ and ‘Art
Today’. Commissions
followed from The Franklin Mint, The Danbury
Mint, and the Avon Cosmetic
Company.
It was in June 1982 that Ron and his wife Alice relocated from NYC to
upstate NY. The medium used for his original sculptures at that time
was fired
clay. In 1986 work began on his first larger than life-size bronze monument.
The ‘Gen.
Samuel Crawford Monument’ was placed near Little Round
Top on The Gettysburg, PA battlefield in 1988. It was an overwhelming
success.

Next came ‘The
Friend to Friend Monument’ for
Gettysburg in 1993. ‘The
Irish Brigade Monument’ for Antietam, MD battlefield
followed, dedicated in 1997. ‘The Delaware State Monument’ for
Gettysburg was done in 2000 followed by ‘The Bivouac’ for
The Museum of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Park. November 16th,
2002 was the
dedication date of ‘The
Gettysburg Civil War Women’s Memorial of Elizabeth Thorn’,
his 4th at Gettysburg, PA. He is currently working on the life-size
bronze,‘The
Patrick Cleburne Monument’ to be placed at Ringgold
Gap battlefield in Georgia. Link to
the Monuments page.

Ron is actively involved in the National Sculpture Society.
He is on the Board of Advisors for the NY State Military Heritage
Museum and is
a member
of The
Company of Military Historians. He is involved with numerous preservation
groups helping to preserve Civil War battlefields. He has been involved
in the restoration
of several Gettysburg Battlefield monuments including the 9th NY Cavalry
Monument on the first days battlefield that was in need of a new scabbard
after the
original had been broken off and lost.

Today Tunison sculptures can be found
in galleries, private collections and museums nationwide and throughout the
world as well as historical societies
and the following prestigious museums; The West Point Military Museum in
NY, The New York State Military Heritage Museum in Saratoga Springs,
NY, The U.S.
Cavalry Museum at Ft. Riley, Kansas, The National Museum
of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Historical Park near Petersburg, Va, The
Atlanta Cyclorama,
Georgia,
and The Motts Military Museum in Ohio.